Memories
by lethean thoughts
Summary: Sad Yatori-ish one shot in which Yato visits Hiyori to find out how memories (or lack of it) can wretch someone's life.


**Disclaimer: Nope. Noragami is not mine.**

**I sincerely apologize for the typos and grammatical errors.**

Yato can easily sneak into Hiyori's room because of his ability to go unnoticed but that is not what he did. He rang the doorbell to the Iki residence and a brunette with pink eyes, presumably in her twenties, opened the door.

"Uhm, is this where Hiyori leaves?" he asked.

"Yes, this is the Iki residence. And you are?" the woman asked.

"My name is –" having achieved a more popular status, Yato does not give his true name, "a family friend." The woman bid him to come inside.

It has been 55 years, 6 months and 4 days since he cut his ties with Hiyori- he kept track of the time. This is of course against their wishes but he wanted her to live a normal life and getting their lives entangled resulted to Hiyori facing different perilous situations. That deed was supposedly the right thing to do because it would give back Hiyori her happiness. From that day on, he held himself back so that he would never cross paths with her again, until today.

"Are you her granddaughter?" the god asked as they walk on the hallways of the house.

"No, I'm not. Hiyori is my great aunt," the woman replied , "she and my grandfather are siblings. But we are the only living relatives of Hiyori. She did not have a family."

"What do you mean?" Yato was surprised, "Hiyori did not marry anyone?"

"Yes," she answered, "According to my grandfather, she became depressed when she entered high school. They thought it was adjustment disorder but it did not resolve. It was also unlikely that she was being bullied. They found it puzzling. When they ask Hiyori if there's anything wrong, she cannot answer. She just felt that there is something missing in her life, as if she's forgetting something important. She spent many hours a day locked up in her room alone, looking for answers in her head. She used to take anti-depressants but she eventually stopped because she feared that the meds will not help her retrieving her lost memories. It was really miserable for the Iki family. In the end, Hiyori decided not to marry because she did not want anyone to carry her burdens for her."

Yato was dumbfounded. He couldn't understand how cutting ties with Hiyori resulted to this. No, this is never what he wanted for her. The actions of the gods are always righteous. However, he felt guilt upon the realization that he made Hiyori, his beloved Hiyori suffer this miserable ordeal.

After a few minutes of silence, the woman spoke again, "Well, Hiyori's also suffering from Alzheimer's disease. Right now, her memories are of that when she was still a teenage girl."

"What?" Yato said, "There's no end to her suffering?" Fate is indeed cruel to Hiyori. After all the searching, what little memory she had made are also slowly fading away.

"You may say that," the woman said, "But actually, I'd never seen her so happy like this before. It's as if something from that point in her life contains what she had been looking for all these years."

They reached the door to Hiyori's room. The woman knocked on the door until a frailty feminine voice asked them to come in. Yato saw her, pink eyes but hair all gray and the lines created by aging and misery written on her face.

"Yato!" Hiyori exclaimed, her face suddenly gleaming with delight. If she had the energy to stand from her bed, she would have ran to him and put her arms around him in a tight embrace.

"Oh, I'm sorry," the woman apologized, "she always calls any boy that name."

And that was the final blow. Yato looked down to hide his face from her, tears streaming down from his eyes. He tried hard to hide the quiver in his voice and said, "It's okay. Would it be too much trouble if I speak to Hiyori alone?"

"Oh not at all," the woman said, smiling, "I'll leave you two here." She exited the room.

Yato paced towards Hiyori while she lied on her bed. He touched her hand, held it to his lips and said, "I'm sorry, Hiyori. I'm so sorry for all the pain I'd caused you."

From that day on until Hiyori's death, Yato would visit her every night. He would climb up on her window, sit beside her and tell her stories of his recent adventures. And during these times, Hiyori had been in her happiest.

**A/N: Well, everything that I touch turns into a miserable crap so this. Reviews?**


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